Students learn to drum at summer arts classThe sound of drums can be heard in the hallways of the Gerald C. Wilson Auditorium on Monday, Wednesday and Friday mornings this summer. The pounding comes from a drumming summer arts class taught by Michael Daquioag of the Kodiak Island Drummers. In the class, about 14 students learn the basics of hand drumming, percussion and rhythm. They jam to songs both fast and slow. At the end of the summer, the students ma...

‘Survive’ hits online retailersA travel drama film shot in Kodiak is now available for purchase at major online retailers. “Survive” tells the story of four campers who must figure out how to survive in the wild on Kodiak Island after their floatplane fails to pick them up. “Everyone is into Alaska right now,” Kiliuda Rock producer Robert Wagner said. “We wanted to showcase Kodiak in a realistic way.” Writer Ronald Jerry is an avid outdoorsman,...

Stage and Screen: Nothing like a good haircutI’ve been going to the same barber shop for more years than I care to recount. It’s one of those old-time men’s barber shops that will soon be only a memory. Paul has been cutting my hair all these years and we really enjoy each other’s bad jokes and political pontifications. While I have a lot less hair to cut than when I started, Paul always asks the same question: “How do you want me to cut it today?” I always ...

Kodiak arts: ‘Rootsy-Americana’ duo plays festivalAs part of its share of Crab Festival weekend, the Kodiak Arts Council welcomes folk musicians Stephanie Bettman and Luke Halpin. “We thought they were a better fit for this time of year,” said arts council director Tom Quass. “Because of their type of music, for Crabfest it (will) be a great event.” The pair will perform at 7 p.m. Saturday in the Kodiak Harbor Convention Center. Tickets are available online at ww...

Arlo Guthrie on 2013 programIn addition to the Bettman and Halpin concert this weekend, the Kodiak Arts Council is sponsoring the Crab Festival Art Show, which begins Friday night. At 6:30 p.m. Friday in the Kodiak Inn’s Harbor Room is the show’s opening reception. The show, organized by Dancing Salmon Artists, continues from noon to 6 p.m. Saturday and noon to 4 p.m. Sunday. “We support them because it is a group of artists,” said arts coun...

Kodiak arts: ‘Rio!’ closes 25-year run for Woodland Dance Studio Woodland Dance Studio will put on its last show ever on Saturday. The Gerald C. Wilson Auditorium stage will come alive with bright colors and music as Ginny Shank directs “Songs and Scenes from Rio!” The show starts at 7 p.m., and will be a last hurrah for Shank before she retires from a 25-year career of teaching dance. “It’s time,” Shank said. “There’s never really a good time to retire because there are always...

Kodiak arts: Singing out about scienceKodiak kids are in for a musical treat as the popular Alaskan musical duo Good Dog visits as part of Whale Fest to perform songs about sea life. Good Dog has been performing at schools and festivals across Alaska for 12 years, and played at the 2008 Whale Fest. “The kids they played for last time are now in junior high and high school,” Whale Fest organizer Cheryl Nugent said. “It’s a real treat to have them back ...

Stage and Screen: The wizard as demagogue“The Wonderful Wizard of Oz” by Frank Baum was published in 1900 and immediately became an iconic children’s story. In 1902, it was performed on the stage, and the film version starring Judy Garland was released in 1939. Baum’s story became the foundation for “The Wiz,” a very successful all-black musical in 1972. Twenty-three years later, Gregory McGuire’s novel “Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of ...

Kodiak arts: Artist gets graphic in talks Graphic illustrator Dimi Macheras loves the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, old Savage Dragon comic books and drawing. The self-taught graphic illustrator spoke at the A. Holmes Johnson Memorial Library Tuesday night about how he got into his field, and about some of the projects he has worked on. Macheras, 30, started doing graphic art design professionally in 2003, but he has enjoyed cartoons and comic books most ...

Kodiak arts: Swords and spiceFencers will knock the winter rust off their blades this weekend as the Kodiak chapter of the Society for Creative Anachronism holds its ninth annual spring event. Since 1966, society members have gathered to keep Middle Ages and Renaissance traditions alive through re-enactments, tournaments and workshops. Kodiak’s chapter of the nationwide organization holds four events each year, and the spring event is typical...